Results 7,261-7,280 of 21,498 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was that a significant flaw in the HSE's procedures?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was the HSE assertive enough in its dealings with the clinic? I picked up, from the trail of correspondence, that at times some of Mr. Cregan's colleagues in the HSE, in fact his colleague seated beside him, Ms McGuinness, was essentially being told to get lost by the clinic. Perhaps that is rather crude but that would certainly have been the message I took from some of the letters...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was that wise in hindsight?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: The problem is that they did not.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Does Mr. Cregan agree with me that it is not sufficient? Although one would like to make the assumption of goodwill and so on, does he agree that it is not safe to assume, simply on the basis of goodwill, that people, as he put it, live up to these agreements and that there has to be more rigorous enforcement? Is that not a key learning point?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: It was asserted here today that there was no understanding, at board level, that either all employees or some employees were public servants. Mr. Cregan has been through the documentation, paper and records associated with the clinic. Was there an understanding that people were public servants?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I appreciate that.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I endorse that view. Presumably, when FEMPI cuts were to be made, there was a discussion or discussions within the clinic.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Mr. Cregan has no evidence of discussion on that. However, there is, evidence of Mr. Kiely, the former CEO, implementing those cuts.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Is Mr. Cregan saying to me, having looked at the minutes of the board, which he has clearly done, that there was never a discussion around that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: No discussion at all.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was that in respect of FEMPI?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Mr. Kiely penned the report which went straight to the remuneration committee but it did not go through the board.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Mr. Cregan made what I believe are three fairly damning findings on the Central Remedial Clinic, goodwill or no goodwill, which raise serious questions. May I check with him if I am correct in stating that his finding was that, first, there was a deliberate and artificial split in salary, in other words, there was a deliberate strategy to evade public sector pay cuts?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is Mr. Cregan's finding. Second, there was knowingly a disregard of the terms of the service level agreement in respect of the appointment of the new CEO, Mr. Conlan.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I think that is accepted. Third, as I understand it, Mr. Cregan asserts that friends and supporters of CRC was contrived in a way that was almost to keep its revenue stream out of sight of the HSE and therefore maximise the level of State funding to the clinic. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: And out of sight of the HSE. Mr. Cregan studied the minutes and discussions, and what I am trying to establish is whether that was explicitly stated and whether there were conversations stating that this was the most efficient way to do things to maximise the clinic's State stream of income.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: I thank Mr. Cregan. Will Mr. Cregan explain to me his recommendation as regards the red-circling of certain salaries that are clearly still out of kilter with public sector pay policy? How many people are involved and, briefly, why has he arrived at that finding?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: It is until 2015?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Section 38 - Agencies Remuneration (3 Jul 2014)

Mary Lou McDonald: Why would it take until 2015 to do that? There are only a small number of people so why could it not be sorted out now?